Mohamad Al-Bacha is the best in the world at what he does.
Last month, Mohamad was crowned the winner of the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) in New York. The 17-year-old from Denmark bested dozens of rivals, defeating England’s Sean Allen in a thrilling final to be crowned the best FIFA 16 player in the world.
WORLD CHAMPION!! #FIWC pic.twitter.com/6OvXbIH0aP
— Al-Bacha (@mobacha_) March 23, 2016
The victory saw Mohamad walk away with $20,000 (£14,117) in prize money – Mohamad says he’s putting the money towards buying a BMW – and a nice trip to next year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Now the dust has settled on his victory, JOE caught up with the world champion for a quick chat about FIFA 16 at the top level.
Hi Mohamad, congrats on your FIWC win. I watched the game live and it was a down-to-the-wire thriller. How does it feel to be world champion?
It’s the best feeling as a competitive player. You want to be the best, and when you finally can call yourself the best, it’s just insane!
How much time and practice do you put in to become a tournament FIFA player?
It takes a lot of training, but you have to train with quality. You need to keep learning and improving you game, to make it even better instead of just playing 10 hours. You need quality instead of quantity.
The winning moment for Denmark's Mohamad Al-Bacha at the EA Sports FIFA interactive World Cup in NYC pic.twitter.com/B2hf5WkBOX
— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) March 23, 2016
FIWC this year saw many matches played with very little crossing and a lot of short corners. Are armchair fans playing FIFA all wrong?
To be honest, there’s no right way of playing FIFA; you play like you want and what pays off for you. Personally, I like to play through the middle, as crossing is not that good in this year compared to last year’s.
What are your top tips for people wanting to improve their FIFA game? Are they any skill moves or tactics you recommend?
Well, just keep practising! You will become good one day.
In terms of skill moves: Probably ball roll [hold down R2/RT as you flick the right stick either left or right].
Or take advantage of the new driven pass as you can attack really quickly with that one – your strikers can get it very fast [R1/RB and pass for a more dangerous through ball].
Or maybe the scoop turn, it is very dangerous in the box [Move the left stick as you pull off a fake shot, so shoot before hitting the pass button].
Thanks Mohamad, one final question: Who do you think will win EURO 2016?
France. They’ve got the best team in my opinion!
Did Mohamad’s tips help you? Have you got some other tricks you’d care to share with FIFA fans? Email us at hello@JOE.co.uk or message us on Facebook.
